Taxback.com provides a 24/7 support service so if you have any questions in the meantime, just enter our Live Chat to talk to a member of staff. Alternatively you can call your local taxback.com office or email us on info@taxback.com.

All the best,The Taxback.com Team

Have you ever worked in Germany?

If so, you could be due to claim German tax back.

People working in Germany can pay up to 42.5% on their earnings.

Estimate your German Tax Refund now

Our German tax calculator is free to use and will give you an instant tax refund estimation.

German Income Tax Refunds

Have you ever worked in Germany? If so you will probably be due a German tax refund. Employees in Germany can pay up to 42.5% income tax on their earnings. In most cases, you can claim back a significant amount of this. At taxback.com, we’ve been providing German income tax refunds since 1996.

There are a number of circumstances which can lead to you getting a German tax rebate. These include the following:

Your annual income was under the tax-free allowance

You worked part-time or had a temporary job in Germany

You were not correctly classified for tax payments

You financially supported your parents or other dependants in your home country

You paid rent in both Germany and your home country

You paid for flights to and from Germany

You incurred work-related expenses such as travel costs

The average German tax refund is €1020 so don’t put off applying any longer!

German Tax Refund FAQ

?When can I get my tax back?

You can apply for a tax refund after the end of the relevant tax year. You can apply for the previous 4 tax years.

?How much money will I get back?

Taxback.com will get you back as much overpaid German tax as is legally possible. The amount of your tax refund depends on factors like:

Your marital status

How much you earned

If you incurred any expenses

How long you worked for

The average refund we get for our German tax clients is €1020!The quickest way to check how much you are owed is to use our FREE online tax refund calculator to see how much money you could get back.

?How long will it take to receive my German tax refund?

As soon as we have it, you'll have it, because we contact you immediately when we receive your refund from the tax office to organise the easiest way to get it to you. On average it takes 3-4 months to get your tax refund from Germany. But ultimately it depends on how busy the Tax Office is.

?How does Taxback.com work?

Here's how our easy three-step service works:

Register online or get a FREE online refund estimation and then download the TaxPack for German tax returns.

Send us your documents and signed forms. We'll estimate your refund and give you your own online tracking account (Tax Tracker®). If you're missing any documents, we can get replacements for you.

Relax while we file your tax return and get you the maximum possible legal refund.

?How do I know what's happening with my tax return?

You can watch the step-by-step progress of your application on your online Tax Tracker® account. We’ll set you up with this when you register.

?What are the advantages of using taxback.com?

Thousands of people choose our service because:

We get you the maximum legal refund.

FREE online refund estimations.

Every customer gets a Personal Online Tracking Account – you can follow your tax return every step of the way.

All our German tax returns are legal and compliant with German tax law.

?How much will it cost?

First of all, our FREE Online Refund Estimation costs you nothing - just a few minutes to fill it out. We'll email your refund estimation straight to your personal email with no obligation to use our service.When you send us your documents and signed forms, we'll evaluate your refund and what additional services you need such as document retrieval. Then we'll let you know how much it will cost to file your return for you.For tax refunds from Germany, we charge 16.5% + handling fee of the refund received, subject to a minimum fee of €50 + handling fee.

?Why the minimum fee?

Our fee covers all the things that make filing your German tax return with us so easy such as:

Customer support 24/7 by phone and Live Chat

Online tracking service in seven languages

Free phone and free fax

Local staff to meet you and guide you through the process in 18 offices worldwide

Tax technicians

Researchers to identify new legal developments to maximise your refunds

?I lost my documents / I never received my documents – what do I do?

We know it's easy to lose documents in the move back home or to not even receive them in the first place. That's why we have a document retrieval service to organise replacements for you. If you're missing documents, just contact us at germany@taxback.com and we'll sort it out for you. Please note that there is a cost for this service.

?What is a Lohnsteuerbescheinigung?

To claim your German tax refund we'll need your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung. This is the official government form that you receive from your employer at the end of the tax year. It outlines your earnings and the amount of tax you paid in that year.If you've misplaced your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung, or you never received it, our document retrieval service can sort out replacements for you.

?What is a Steuernummer?

If you've applied for a tax rebate in Germany before, you'll have a Steuernummer, it’s issued by your local Tax office in Germany. Even if this is your first tax refund application ever in Germany you will have a Steueridentificationsnummer (a tax identification number), it lasts for a life time and doesn’t change no matter how many times you move or leave Germany. If you have one it can speed up your tax refund application so make sure you tell us. You'll find the number on any documents you’ve received from the tax office.

?I was still paying rent in my home country while I was paying rent in Germany – can that affect my refund?

Yes! If you paid rent in Germany and in your home country at the same time, this can increase the refund we get for you. To get more money back for you, we need to know how much rent you paid in Germany. We also need your rental contracts from both countries. A rental contract is the agreement between you and your landlord.

?I earned money outside of Germany during the year – do I need to declare it?

Yes. You need to tell us about all your earnings for the entire year - including earnings outside of Germany. This doesn’t mean that your foreign income will be taxed in Germany, the German Tax authorities require this information to assess the correct tax rate for you.

?Can I get my tax back myself?

Every tax office in the world is set up to accept applications directly from taxpayers so yes, you can file your return yourself. The reality is though once you submit it, there's no updating process and no feedback until you get a yes or a no, which is frustrating and very worrying.Preparing your German tax return will involve getting all the tax forms and trying to put all the information together – and it's not as easy as it looks.The tax system in Germany is very complex and filing their own tax return is a challenge that many German citizens don't even attempt themselves.Our taxback.com customers rely on us as technical professionals to file their German returns and get their tax back. Our customers tell us they knew trying to file it themselves would lead to stress and a possible loss of money in refunds. They'd rather focus on their university courses, their day-job or, more importantly, on tasting the local beers.Filing your return yourself can result in lots of stress and leave you out of pocket if you miss out on refunds you're owed. It makes sense to use an expert.

We file your German tax return in order to organise your tax refund.A tax return is the annual submission of tax forms documenting your earnings, taxes paid, deductable expenses and allowances that you send to the tax office for review. They review it according to the information submitted by your employer and the current laws that apply to your case.If you get a tax refund, this means the tax office review found you had overpaid tax in Germany and were due some back.Our estimate of your refund is based on our prediction of what the tax office will decide when they review your tax return - providing they have the same information as us.Use our FREE online tax refund calculator to see how much cash you could get back!

?Can you guarantee that I'll receive the refund amount you estimated for me?

No, but we do guarantee to get you the most money back that we legally can.Our estimate is based on your documents and our experience in filing thousands of tax returns every week since 1996. Naturally, the German tax authority has the final decision in your tax refund based on their systems and tax codes.When our tax technicians prepare and file your returns, they check for any allowances or benefits you could get and ensure we apply for the maximum rebate possible.

Married or jointly assessed couples can avail of a higher tax-free allowance in Germany

If you’re married and want to claim a German tax refund you may be able to avail of a lower tax rate. In Germany, there is a higher tax-free allowance for married or jointly-assessed couples. We will check your individual circumstances and see if you can apply for your German tax refund jointly with your spouse. The amount you will get back will depend on a variety of factors such as how long you’ve been working and the type of job you do. Find out more by clicking here.

Find Out More

Prefer to talk to us?

Check out our Contact Us page for your nearest office

Useful GermanTax Facts

The German tax year runs from 1st January – 31st December

To claim your German tax refund we'll need your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung. This is the official government form that you receive from your employer at the end of the tax year.

The average refund we get for our German tax clients is €1020

If you've applied for a tax rebate in Germany before, you'll have a Steuernummer, it’s issued by your local Tax office in Germany.

If you paid rent in Germany, you could be due a higher tax refund

We’ve Been Getting German Tax Back Since 1996

Find Out More

When you’re getting a company to provide a service for you, you want to make sure that they know what they are doing. We’ve been trusted by millions of people to provide tax refunds since 1996. Our service has also got an ISO Quality accreditation. If you want to find out more information about taxback.com and our history, click here.

TAXBACK.COM Reviews & Feedback

Customer Corner

27 February 2019

Rebecca Colcloughrebecc

I admirer how well your staff members communicate with there clients one lady in particular was great help to me and very kinda and well mannered her names was mairead Morgan thankyou for your amazing service I will be recommending this site

22 February 2019

Carey Corlett-Donald

Straight forward and good service from agents

20 February 2019

Basil Glennon

My agent was very helpful , efficient and professional .

14 February 2019

Jack

So fast easy and reliable. They do all the work and handle everything with ease. They just took the info I provided and got back to me with a larger then expected figure of tax back. Couldn't be happier at recommend enough

14 February 2019

Niamh O Connell

The whole process is quick and easy. The agents are fantastic to deal with and really helpful. I have been using Taxback.com for years now and have no intention to ever change. The level of customer services and communication is brilliant. I am always kept up to date as soon as information is available.

01 February 2019

Yeshi

Customer Service

31 January 2019

Breana Field

The personal communications from your agents made all the difference in my choice to use TaxBack. Overwhelmed with what should have been a simple process due to an error going back several years in my taxes, I gave up doing them myself and handed it over to TaxBack. I was assured all 3 years would be fixed and my refunds recieved. Once I handed over my paperwork I never had to ask about updates or remind my agent to do anything - they were so on top of it and made it so easy! Matthew Lloyd was especially helpful and I can't thank him enough for his continued clear communications and patient explanations which saved me so much time!

30 January 2019

Umidjon Otayorov

Tax Tracker service

24 January 2019

Stephen Rocliffe

Taxback.com has been so , so easy to use and understand . My agent Yordan Marinov was very helpful and had great patience with me as I'm not very good at doing anything like this on line .I have already told friends and family about Taxback and that they should use them .So easy and uncomplicated .

23 January 2019

Justin David Tieng

The agents are super helpful and efficient. I would rate them 8.5/10 .

23 January 2019

Gary Walsh

Spot on. Very professional and efficient. Felt as if the organisation had my best interests at heart.